23-year-old Telangana man hacked to death in front of pregnant wife months after inter-caste marriage

In what is suspected to be a case of dishonour killing, a 23-year-old man from Telangana was hacked to death on Saturday in front of his pregnant wife, outside a local hospital.

The incident was captured on CCTV footage where Pranay Kumar can be seen leaving the hospital along with his wife. (Source: Facebook)

In what is suspected to be a case of dishonour killing, a 23-year-old man from Telangana was hacked to death on Saturday in front of his pregnant wife, outside a local hospital. The incident was captured on CCTV footage where Pranay Kumar can be seen leaving the hospital along with his wife, 21-year-old Amrutha Varshini, when a man suddenly attacked him from behind with a machete, killing him. During the incident, Amrutha fainted due to shock and was rushed to the hospital.

The woman later told police that she suspected the murder was arranged by her father and uncle, as they had opposed her marriage because her husband was from a different caste and wanted her to have an abortion. According to a report by NDTV, she said, “I have no intention of aborting my baby. Pranay’s baby is my future.”

“Pranay was such a nice person. He looked after me so well, especially after I became pregnant. I don’t know why caste is so important in this time and age,” she added.

The police have named her father Maruti Rao, a businessman, and her uncle Shravan as the main accused in the case. Both of them have been arrested by the police. The murder has led to protests in Telangana’s Nalgonda district where the demonstrators called for a shutdown in Miryalguda town to demand justice for the couple.

The couple had fallen in love in school and were in a relationship since their college days. They married just eight months after that even as their families opposed it. Pranay belonged to the Madiga Scheduled Caste whereas Amrutha was from the Vysya caste.

In 2016, a similar case was reported from Tamil Nadu’s Tiruppur when 22-year-old Sankar was hacked to death in front of his wife Kaushalya. The girl’s father and several other relatives were convicted in the case.